Finding my way home

From Port Lincoln I continued up and around the coast popping into the various settlements along the way. It amazed me the number of these little towns on my trip that had quite prominent murals painted on walls.

Pictorial history of Arno Bay

In endurance riding circles Horrocks pass is the welcome to the east, the first set of true corners that greets riders coming from the west. So it is with square tyres and broad smiles that we traverse this mountain pass.

While I wasn’t actually going this way, it’s a nice mountain range and it was just there. So I popped up to the Wilmington pub for a Coke and a chat with some of the locals, and then back down Horrocks.

Looking up towards Horrocks Pass

From Horrocks it was back to the serious business of heading down the coast. The first stop was Port Germein who’s main claim to fame is a 1.6km long jetty that stretches way out over the shallows to deeper waters where ships can load. Before this mammoth jetty they had to cart freight way out in the shallows to load the ships.

Given that I had been told about this jetty a couple of times I thought that I should make the effort and wander out to the end. Apparently not learning my last lesson about going for a walk in full bike gear I set off down the jetty. That’s one long jetty.

Have I learned the lesson now? I guess only time will tell.

looking back from the end of the 1.6km long Port Germein jetty

the end of the line – Port Germein jetty

Another port another jetty.

Coming into Adelaide for my next overnight stop I was really struck by the control we have over us or allow over us. After thousands of kilometres on the road it’s been a while since I was in real traffic and coming into town there was average speed cameras on the wide open freeways. You just feel manipulated and controlled. For what? This is about beating a populace into submission and making a bucket load of money in the process.

I was to learn that this would only get worse on the coming day.

Leaving South Australian it was onto Victoria and following the coast around to Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road. I had arranged to hook up with Nico at Lavers Hill so it was great to share the road and coffee at Apollo Bay.

I did think about stopping and taking photos of the 12 apostles but there was lots of people, there was a walk involve, and I was enjoying the ride.

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One of the things that I put in the plan from the outset was a ferry ride across Port Phillip Bay on the Searoad ferry which effectively cuts off Melbourne CBD. This is a nice 45 minute ride in nice calm waters so there is no need to tie the bike down and you only need to stay with the bike if the water is a bit choppy.

On the Searoad ferry

Searoad

And now it got really tedious. Victoria the procession State where 80 is the new 100 and no one is game to overtake in case they put a toe over the speed limit and DIE!

And then there are the signs everywhere. Don’t speed. Don’t tailgate. Stay awake. Do this. Don’t do that. Talk about treating people like children.

Welcome to the Nanny State!

I could not wait to get out of Victoria and their mentality towards their residents.

And then I was back in New South Wales, only a couple of hours to home and I was back in my mountains and it was starting to feel like home.

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The last sunset of the trip

Then it was over. 11,650km and over 700 litres of fuel since I left home 15 days earlier. As I came into Cooma (100km from home) I was thinking about a conversation I had with my dad a few days earlier about whether this had cured me of needing to go for a ride. No. Now I want to go for a big ride.

My policy on the road is that I don’t wash the bike, except for the visor and lights. The rest is all part of the journey and the story along the way, the mud, the rain, the bugs.

12,000km worth of bugs

However, now that I’m home it probably needs a wash. And an oil change. And …